Over a 24 hour period, Pennsylvania College of Art & Design students and faculty members and countless gallons of coffee will be tapped to create professional-quality design materials to benefit local non-profits during PCA&D’s 9th annual Designathon, scheduled on February 24 & 25, 2017, beginning at 6 p.m. February 24.

The 24-hour Designathon is an annual event held by the college’s American Institute of Graphic Arts Student Chapter (AIGA) that provides professional-quality design services at no charge to area non-profits and to the community-at-large. Students at PCA&D who participate in the Designathon gain real-world experience in creating projects for clients under a tight, 24-hour deadline. They learn that non-profits have very real marketing needs in order to be successful, and strong graphic design on well-organized collateral pieces are vital components in successful communications and marketing plans. More importantly, students experience the value of giving back to the community. Watch our video!

See how Designathon works:

Last year's event, the 8th annual Designathon, held February 19, 2016, 26 PCA&D students participated, aided by nine faculty members and five professional designers who belong to Central PA AIGA (and gallons of coffee) worked over a 24-hour period to create high-quality logos, brochures, websites and other promotional design materials for 9 local non-profit organizations. Enjoy an inside look at Designathon 2016 with a brief SlideShare.

"OMG you guys are AMAZING!!!! I am still trying to wrap my head around the talent and amount of work that was accomplished in 24 hours!!!! You gave us exactly what I have been looking for for over 2 years!!!! Every time I met with someone and gave them my idea for a tshirt design they came back to me with something that I thought wow I could have done that and maybe a little better and I'm no artist! You guys NAILED it!! I am so appreciative!! THANK YOU THANK YOU!" - Lynn M. Leach, Director of 2nd Chance 4 Life Rescue

"Thank you for the work you put into arranging the Designation 2016. What a great event to be part of. I enjoyed the presentations, meeting the team and working with the students and mentors. I cannot express how valuable this has been, both as a personal experience and for our school. The website design that Linda Forte and her team created will be used by Resurrection Catholic School for years to come. Your outreach to the community and the positive partnerships that resulted go a long way toward strengthening the bonds between our schools and the greater Lancaster community. I was most impressed by the level of professionalism exhibited by student mentor Linda Forte, AIGA rep Ryaan Beck, and students Andrea Ho, James Marshall and Lexus Harris. They worked hard for us and we are very grateful." - Donna Walker, Marketing Director, Resurrection Catholic School, Lancaster

"On behalf of the Board of the Directors of the Centre Park Historic District I want to thank you for including us in your annual Designathon. The team of students did a great job coming up with a creative logo and promotional materials."- Tadd Casner, President, Centre Park Historic District

"We at LUMINA are so excited about our new logo and marketing materials, resulting from the Designathon! We have already sent some of them off to the printer!" - Correen Russo of LUMINA

The event is extremely rewarding for PCA&D students, too.

Through endless hours of hard-work and dedication, the students consistently manage to maintain levels of enthusiasm and excitement. This event provides them with the opportunity to work hands-on with real clients, fully capturing the essence of each client’s vision, all while giving back to the community.